King of Humans
by WhisperOfDreams5
Summary: Humans are toys of gods and the other races. However, an once forgotten king will rise to prove again that humanity should not be underestimated. Even so, the king will have to be careful for every side fights for what they believe is right and defeat may result in extinction. Rated M because yes / First tale/ Flames will be ignored. Crossover with FGO and minor from others series
1. Chapter 1 - Prologue

**Hello everyone, Whisper here and let me tell you how happy I am to finally be here. I have helped my friends with some stories but never had the courage to actually write one. However since I couldn't sleep thinking about this story, I decided to finally put it on paper. It is as said, a blend between Fate Grand Order and Highschool DxD and certain elements from one or two series at max. While the novel characters will most certainly appear, this story will focus on people I personally find much more interesting: The heroes. Not that Issei and Co. won't be important, they will, but I wanted to give heroes and their never ending struggles a chance. I always loved hero's tales and since I have already read some in this site, I thought about one from the side of the humans. I am getting off topic, so I hope you enjoy, have a nice time and, if possible, do take the time, to leave a review.**

 **PS: if you did enjoy, and like FGO, please leave your favorite heroes in the reviews, some may even end up on this story, since I plan on adding some more heroes to it (only three had been chosen until now).**

 **PS2: Please, be kind with the reviews, it is my first fic and English is not my first language. I will begin to look for a beta, but until then, I ask for just a bit of your patience. The beginning may be slow, but it will be worth it.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Highschool DXD, FGO or any of the series that will be used! I don't want that much trouble!**

* * *

Humans are weak.

Have any of you ever thought about it?

They fight for the smallest of things, despise others of the same species just because of their skin colors or social standings. Their greed and desire is so great that the very planet they inhabit is on the brink of collapse.

And yet…

They laugh, cry, learn and end up moving forward one step at a time.

Humans are confusing.

Sometimes, you can do nothing but hate them for their stupid decisions and hypocrisy; while in other moments; one can't help but admire their resilience and free will.

But…

There was one man who the humans respected. He did almost everything perfectly: lead, teach, build, guide, observe, paint, write, judge. However, even though many said that this person was blessed by God himself, there was one thing he could not ever do: be human.

Having been ordained as a king from the moment he was born, that man had no choice but to hear the voice of God and act accordingly. His psyche was dispassionate and (He didn't understand things like hate, love, regret, sadness, anxiety, happiness) inhuman. And, because of that, that man also envied his fellow humans.

He had everything, a white throne; He properly ascertained people, properly established laws and properly governed the country. He was loved and respected by the masses as a wise, gentle king who was full of love. He had a beautiful and caring wife who had given her everything to him and power beyond measure. However, he knew he was missing something, something very important.

Even though he could hear the voice of God himself, it didn't give the answers he so desired, the emptiness that seemed to crush his very existence. He would have given all-it up and lived the rest of his days bearing that terrible feeling.

At least, it was what he intended until that fated encounter.

It was a day like any other, and the man stood by his golden garden, simply observing life flourishing around him. As he prepared to depart, a young, petite girl bumped into him.

It didn't hurt him or anything, it didn't even tickle. When the man turned around, he could easily see she was one of the new servants, who had come to serve at the palace. It was also possible to see a collar around her neck.

While she begged for help, with tears coming from her eyes, three golden guards came and pulled her away from him, throwing insults at her for even daring to approach the king.

The man wondered why that scene seemed wrong.

It was the right thing to do. He knew that, he had written the law himself, and yet, why did it feel so wrong? His decision was what was best for his people; there wasn't even one citizen who complained about his rule. But, as he watched the girl bleed while giving him a mean look, and the guards with satisfaction all over their faces, something changed in him.

He ordered the guards to take the girl away and treat her wounds. The response he heard would haunt him for many sleepless nights.

"My king, you should not be concerned with a slave, she is just a disposable item for your greatness. And this one even had the audacity to try to run away." And with that they took her away.

The disgust in his voice shocked the king to the core. Such was the shock that questions began to arise at the back of his mind.

Wasn't that girl a fellow human too?

Wasn't she deserving of the same freedom that those guards had?

Why did it feel so wrong?

Why did it seem wrong?

Why?

Why?

 **Why?**

The king never had the need to ask that, everything was granted to him at the time of his birth. He had mastered it all, he had knowledge that the creator himself had granted him, and yet, he couldn't answers these enigmas.

Then, as the wind breezed through the gardens, he understood. He felt, for the first time, doubt. That was it, what he lacked, what his heart so desperately desired. He wanted to be human. He wanted to feel, to care, to love, to cry, to be happy, to evolve, to fight for what he wanted and not have everything simply given to him! He, who had been only but a king since the moment he was born, had a desire.

And so, that voice, the one he hadn't heard in quite some time, came to him.

｢You, who are qualified, once again, I ask of thee. What is your wish?｣

The king immediately answered.

"To truly become human!"

｢Art thou aware of the consequences? You who had been chosen to lead those people.｣

"Humanity is strong, even if they don't have me to guide them, I am certain they will walk on the right path!"

｢And if you are wrong?｣

"Then I will entrust these to the future. If needed, please, punish me and allow me to once again guide them. In that case, I, who learned their way, will be able to show them the proper way" The king said as he raised some objects to the sky which promptly disappeared.

｢Your devotion and love have been proved. Your wish shall then be granted. Be aware, however, that you shall, once again, be called to fulfill that role.｣

Though, he, who could see the future, never even considered such an option; such was the trust that man had in humanity.

Before the sweet embrace of death came to claim him to guide him to his new human life, he had one last vision, of war, of grief, of loss, and he understood what the voice had told him.

The wife of the king, worried by the absence of the ruler on the throne, arrived at the garden looking for him and saw the man slowly falling to the ground. Rushing to aid him, she was also the last one to hear that man final words:

"Forgive me."

That king's legend came to an end that day. the people mourned and lost their way. Conflicts arose, his kingdom was almost completely destroyed, their way of life was forgotten and many lives were lost. The citizens cried and cried for they could never understand why their beloved king had left them.

But the voice had understood, and had granted the only desire for his beloved child. Nevertheless, his child still had many things to do. For he, one day, would come to be known as the King of Humans.

* * *

 **Middle East, 1990.**

"AVENGE US! AVENGE US! AVENGE US! AVENGE US! AVENGE US! AVENGE US! AVENGE US!"

"RUN!"

"WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME ALL ALONE?"

"IT IS THEIR FAULT!"

"IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE YOU!"

"Mom? Dad? Where are you?"

"They need someone."

"I know you can do it."

"If only they didn't exist!"

"Forgive me; I leave this burden to you."

"Don't go!"

A boy suddenly awoke and rose in a hurry. Same dream, again and again. A lot of blood everywhere, screams begging for revenge, his mother telling him to run, confusing images and a voice asking to be forgiven and another begging him to stay.

The boy, who looked no older than eight, quietly rose from his small bed and used his shirt to wipe away the cold sweat of his face. He laughed a bit, since no one but she would want him to stay anywhere.

As he finished he looked at his arms that were covered by bandages, from the tip of his fingers all the way up to his shoulders. The boy, once more, cursed for being born with these birthmarks, they had given nothing but trouble to his mother.

Not only that, his silver hair and golden eyes certainly didn't help the case. Even so, despite being called a demon so many times, his mother held nothing but love towards him and that was more than enough for the boy.

The boy, even though he was so young, already considered his fellow humans weak. They despised him for being different? They hated his mother for giving birth to a so called monster? Who were they to judge? They didn't see how much she had sacrificed for him? How many sleepless nights she had to go through to get even a single loaf of bread home!

He hated them, all of them!

HE HATED THEM!

HE HATED THEM!

HE HATED THEM!

HE HATED THEM!

But his mother didn't.

She always said to him that humanity was a beautiful thing and, one day, she was certain they would all end up understanding one another. That is why she had given him that name, in hopes that her little boy would guide humanity to a better place.

Seeing the sun rise in the distance, the boy cut himself from his thoughts and ran outside the house to the well near their home to get water. It was a little blessing they had found this small cabin near a well with no one living in it. Every other place didn't want a demon living near or with them.

That said, he still had to walk for an hour to get to the public school. Well, at least, he was leagues ahead of every single student and even some of the teachers. The boy didn't know how he learned so fast, but if it helped him bring money home in the future, he was not complaining.

As he brought the bucket of water into their little abode, he saw his mother offering a prayer to a picture of him, her and his father.

His dad…. He never thought about him much, but from what he learned from the gossip of the people in town, the man was from a very rich family who, 'unfortunately' had fallen in love with a commoner. They had run away when his parents didn't agree with the marriage. The problem was that the rich family was of some really bad people and when the patriarch heard what happened, he ordered to bring his son back.

Summing up, they found his mom and dad, and the patriarch killed his own flesh and blood right in front of his mother. The only reason he also didn't kill her was because he thought death would be too good for her and threw her away on the streets. Worst of all, he controls the entire city, so, another reason everyone hates them there.

"Good morning to you my sunshine!" His mother said, distracting him from his thoughts. She was, even after everything the world had made her suffer, a beautiful woman. Long black hair, carefully weaved. Heart shaped face; blue eyes that made man drown in them. But, what the boy loved the most about her were three things. First, it was the smile; it could light a dark room, stop an eclipse, and make humans beg for their sins to be forgiven.

The second, it was her hands. The woman wasn't afraid to show the incredible amount of calluses and scars she had on both of them. She worked hard to provide for them, even, if sometimes, he regretted to give his mother such a burden.

The third one was her spirit. He only saw her sad when the date of his father's death came. She was usually a happy woman, always singing while cooking, or laughing at the silliest of things, never getting angry at him or at other people. Once, they threw water at her when she was coming back from work, and she thanked the woman since it was a hot day.

It was also that spirit that allowed her to get a few jobs. So much was her insistence that some places ended up hiring her, even if they did pay less than they normally would.

"Mother, please, stop calling me that. It is embarrassing." As soon as he said that, he immediately regretted as the woman went into a corner and began to sob.

"My poor baby doesn't love mommy anymore. Even though all I do is for him. Oh Dear, where did we went wrong in raising him. I should just join you to avoid the shame of a son who doesn't love his mother." She said with fake tears.

"Mom! I am sorry ok, I love you too." He said giving a kiss on her cheek. The woman then immediately enveloped him in a bear crushing hug that made him almost suffocate.

"I knew my baby boy would come to reason, that is why mommy loves you so much!" with a large quantity of kisses, she finally let him go, allowing the boy to breath.

The mother also noticed the bruises on his face and in the torso, assuming a serious expression.

"You are hiding things from me again. Where did you get those? Are those the reason you barely talked with me yesterday?" She said trying to take a look only for the boy to distance himself.

"I fell on the playground of the school. I was distracted." And by fell, he meant the group of bullies at his school which picked on him for being weird. The problem was that the teachers and the other children ignored these or even encouraged this kind of behavior.

"Are you sure? Because I can leave work a little earlier to have a conversation with the headmaster." She said, but the boy began to shake his head to confirm it was no problem.

"I will be fine." And with that, he left to take a bath with a little of the water of the well.

"My son… I just hope I can raise him to your expectations dear." She gave a sad smile to the picture of her husband and went to prepare what little breakfast they could eat.

As he was about to leave for school, the boy saw his mother at the door waiting for him with a little packet.

"This is for you." She said as she gave the bundle to him. Immediately he could smell a delicious scent.

"Mother, the dried meat was supposed to be for your lunch! I would be fine with just a little of bread and goat cheese." To be honest, they had found two goats not far away from their houses. As no one came to retrieve them and the animals seemed attached to him and his mother, they kept the goats, which were extremely healthy and always produced a lot of milk.

"No can do, in case you forgot, today is your birthday! And you need to eat healthy, so you can become a lady-killer and bring a lot of beautiful woman home." She said with a smile.

"But I only need mom…" he said on a low tone voice, but his mother still managed to hear it. Then she pulled him into another bear crushing hug.

"Ow my God, my son is such a handsome man. Alright, mom will be your bride." She said as she turned him around from one side to another.

Later as she let him down, she gave him another smile and said.

"I have one final surprise for today, but you have to wait until tonight ok? Now go or you will be too late for class. Mommy loves you very much."

Knowing it would be too stupid to argue with her, he said he loved her and began the long way towards his school.

* * *

As soon as he arrived there, the boy could already see the looks of disgust on the others' faces. In the beginning, the girls and some boys liked to talk with him for he was very smart and didn't play pranks on them, instead he helped them with homework.

However, everything changed when the bandages on one of his arms came undone. It was a very hot day, and the teachers had the children play with water at the playground. The boy stood away from the others reading a book, since with water, the bandages could come off easily. It was then one of his bullies, called Ayaan, who is four years older than him, noticed that he was all alone, and decided to play a prank.

He went on the boy's blind spot and threw a bucket of water on him. When the teacher and the other children came to see what was happening, they all saw it. Black patterns on his arm that looked like tattoos. The problem was that the designs seemed ominous for some reason and everyone began to fear the boy.

The bullies, seeing he didn't react to their insults, took that opportunity to hit him. What they didn't know was that the boy could see their movements, but he never did anything because he didn't want to upset his mother.

After that, everyone in school knew who he was and were ordered to stay away from him. The kid could see some people wanted to speak with him, but they never did, since their parents forbid it.

That way, a new routine was born. The boy would come to school really early, hide in the library to read until classes were about to start, watch the first classes, get bullied during recess, get back to class, get more bullied after the teaching was over, go home. If he was lucky, he could escape his bullies after the lessons were over.

As he entered the classroom and sat. Once again, he noticed that almost everyone had stopped talking and began looking at him with disgust.

' _You should just kill them. They don't realize what you are destined to be.'_ And there it was the cherry on top of his problems. That damned voice in his head.

It had begun a long time ago. A single voice, monthly at first, but then, it went to be weekly, then daily, now it was almost hourly and it was driving him insane. At least, the boy discovered that if he ignored, it would go away after a few tries.

' _You ignore me, even though I have been with you since the beginning, you don't have much time left. Everything is about to change. You have to wake up.'_ The voice said something new which scared him and disappeared. The class ended, with the teacher 'forgetting' to call his name once again. The boy safely arrived, during recess, at a tree, at the back of the school to eat his lunch. At least, that was what he thought. Ayaan and his gang of bullies had already spotted him and were going his way.

"Hey demon, what are you doing there? Is it some kind of magic ritual to make you normal?" The others laughed, but the boy didn't do anything and only continued to eat quietly. Of course that attitude pissed Ayaan. Who did he think he was? Just because he thought he was more intelligent than them and some of the older girls still liked the boy, he thought he could ignore him and his friends?

In an act of rage, Ayaan came and punched the lunch box from the boy making it fall on the ground and spoiling its contents.

"My mother made that." The boy said.

"And do I look like I care?" Ayaan said with a smile.

"She was hungry; she made this for me even though she was hungry." The boy continued. Ever since the Gulf war had started, food had become more and more difficult to acquire, so some of the kids did felt some pity for the boy.

"And do I look like someone who cares if you, a demon, and your mother go hungry. As someone who gave birth to a monster like you, she should die, so we don't have to be afraid of more things like you coming around."

Everything stopped. The tree stopped shaking, the laughs on the other side of the school, the sound of footsteps coming from the building. Everything stopped, like time itself was waiting for something.

The bangs on the boy hair were covering his hair as he asked.

"What did you say?" Ayaan, due to the adrenaline, still hadn't notice the changes and said.

"You heard me! You are a devil and your mother in nothing but a monster…." He never managed to finish his sentenced as he felt the air leave his body, as the young boy in front of him punched him directly in the stomach with an impossible strength.

"As he fell to his knees and began coughing blood, he looked to the boy to ask what was wrong with him, but he stopped as he saw his face.

The white on his eyes were gone in exchange for complete black. The golden, which many girls claimed it was beautiful, was now red like blood.

"I was going to ignore everything you said as I usually do, but, I think there is one thing I cannot forgive. You were badmouthing my mother." The boy said in a terrifying calm voice.

As Ayaan turned to call his friends for help he noticed they were all trembling and some had even stained their pants, but none of them could move from their spots.

"Your…associates can't help you now Ayaan. You know, I never wanted to do this, but let it be known that you only have yourself to blame." The transformed boy then gave a punch on the bully's left arm which gave a disgusting noise.

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!" the bully screamed as he felt his arm had broken.

"Oh relax you idiot, two to five months and you will be ok. If you read books instead of wooing girls or bullying those weaker than you, you would know that." The boy said with a smile.

"S-Shut up you monster." Ayaan said mid tears as he wondered why the teachers or anyone wasn't coming to see what was happening.

"Oh, are you waiting for someone? I am afraid no one is going to come here. This area is my realm and I made sure no one will ever disturb us." He said showing a smile full of pointy teeth.

As all kids began to desperately cry for anyone and the tears began to fall like a river in their faces. A grand battle was happening inside the boy's head.

' _Kill them!_ '

'They don't deserve it'.

' _They do! They are the lowest of human beings. They can't even be called that'_

'But it is not right.'

' _Right? They called your mother a monster!'_

'That is right.'

' _No one has to know.'_

'It would be so easy.'

As he approached the leader bully, he heard one of the other kids say.

"Mommy, please help me." It was nothing more than a whisper, but the boy heard, and the boy remembered what his mother used to say.

* * *

Flashback

The boy was home waiting for his mother when the door opened to her. When he ran to hug her, he saw that she was full of bruises and one of her eyes was closed due to the attack.

"Mommy!" The boy ran to her to press her to a hug.

"Hello my sunshine." She said giving him a hug despite her injuries.

"Who did this to you mommy?" The kid said with worry and anger.

"Hahahaha, worrying about mommy? That is too cute! Don't worry mommy had to talk to some bad guys but she is all right."

"Was it because of me?" it was no secret the people of the town hated him and used to discharge that anger on his mother. He said in sad tone, but without dropping even a single tear.

"Maybe if I hadn't been born, maybe mommy wouldn't have to…" He never finished that sentence as she involved him in a warm hug.

"Now listen to me and listen well, mother never regreted a single day she spent with you. I love you sooooo much! You are everything to me. And I am sure one day everyone will respect and love you. One day, you will change this world." She said with a smile.

"Mommy promises it?"

"Mommy knows it. Just as I know humans can change for the better." She said and the two hug again, taking comfort in the warm the other provided.

End of Flashback

* * *

Yeah, his mother would never forgive him if he did this.

Then everything suddenly went back to normal the kids could move, Ayaan didn't have a broken arm, and the boy's eyes were back to normal.

As soon as they noticed, they all began to run, leaving the boy alone.

The boy himself was sweating cold once again. What had happened? It felt like he wasn't even in control, like he was someone else, someone old, powerful and dangerous.

As he collected his lunch or what was left of it, he noticed a female teacher coming towards him with nothing but fury in her face, but the moment she got close, the anger was gone and in its place a smile bloomed.

"Ah, there you are! The headmaster wishes to speak with you."

"I will be going there immediately professor." He said with all caution he could gather. Why was she smiling at him? Maybe he finally would be expelled?

"Oh, no! You are injured and your lunch! How dare they do this to you? I will contact the school nurse to have a look at that and after that, I will inform the school canteen to prepare something to you." She said with a voice that sounded really concerned.

"Er, what? That will not be necessary professor; I can take care of myself, but thank you anyway." The boy then ran, ignoring the calls of the teacher for him to stop. They never had cared for him, why was she being nice?

He then went directly to the headmaster to explain what happened. What he was most surprised was that the older man actually believed him, saying he would do everything in his power to help him.

Not only that, the school nurse, who had never even looked at him, also went to the headmaster and did a full check up on him and even treated his wounds.

In the rest of the class, the other teacher actually called his name and even congratulated him for correctly resolving the problem.

' _It has begun, your legend is about to start once again.'_ The voice said which only made him more confused.

As the class ended and he, with a headache slowly appearing, began collecting his things, some girls called out to him to ask if they could walk with him out of school to get some ice cream.

Surprised by this, the boy quickly put everything in his bag and ran away from the class all the while questioning what in the world was going on.

' _Awaken o' chosen one! Your people don't have much time without you_. _These land needs thee.'_ this time a different voice, a feminine one said.

Everyone he passed, offered him a smile, asked if he needed anything or wanted to know his name. It was freaking him out. They never cared about him; they always called him a demon! What had changed? Had it been that thing with the bullies?

His headache only seemed to grow, and he actually began to feel weak. Thank the heavens he was five minutes away from his home, from his mother. He couldn't wait to tell her what had happened. His mother was smart when it came to people; she would know something at least.

But what awaited him wasn't the comfortable home he grew to love, or the sounds of his two white goats, happy he had come back. Not even the sound of his mother singing her favorite song, since it was her break from work. What awaited him was a house in flames, his goats dead, with their blood everywhere and seven men in front of what used to be his front door laughing while kicking and punching a woman.

Not just any woman.

It was his mother.

Then before he could scream or do anything, a man pulled a pistol and shot her two times in the stomach.

The boy saw his mother move, and then, she didn't move anymore. He stopped.

The man saw him and went to his direction.

"Finally, we found him, hey kiddo, your grandfather wants you! Said he found someone he can sell you to. Although he said we should kill your mother, you don't care if we have a little fun with what is left right?" The man said and the others laughed.

The boy was still silent, looking at his mother.

"Hey stupid boy, he asked you something! Answer him." One of the other men said and went to punch him. However, before the punch even connected, it was stopped by a small golden circle that was floating in the air.

"What the….?" The man said as he and the others noted that it wasn't just one golden ring, but ten of them, which were around the boy as if protecting him.

"Oy, you idiot, what are you waiting for, get the kid! The boss will kill us if we don't return with him." The leader of the group said.

But no one moved, no one could do it. Someone or something was stopping them from even taking a step.

"IT SeEmS YoU hAvE bOtHeReD mY mAsTeR." They heard a deep voice, which made every single one of them fear for their souls.

"I DiD wArN HiM tO bE CaUtIoUs aLl tHoSe ThOusaNd of YearS aGo, bUt hE NeVer listened tO Me." They noticed the voice come from the boy who now had black and red eyes and sharp teeth.

"I CaN'T HeAL her LadYSHIP. YoU hUrT the ONLY HuMAn AliVe who cAreD For My MaStEr. ThAT DemANds ComPenSatION." The boy (?) said in an eerie tone.

Before anyone could plea. Seven dark masses surged from the sand. They seemed like simple black columns at first. But then as it form began to clear, It was possible to see their shape, with black skin, resembling a cephalopod tentacle with rings of round or diamond, red eyes in place of suckers.

The things released inhuman screams as their teeth (?) began to salivate and came closer and closer to the paralyzed men.

As the henchman all screamed, the creatures (?) advanced and, in one fell swoop, devoured all of them as their eyes searched the area for more intruders or perhaps, they were also looking for more food.

"PaTHetIC, tO ThINk We cAn OnLY SuMMon SeVeN. It ProVES hOw WeAk wE HaVe BeCoMe." As the boy (?) said that the ten rings came to a halt and appeared on the kid's fingers.

"We fAiled MaStEr, EvEn iF IT iS not aLl of Us, we should Have aT least bE strong EnouGh to Have prOteCTed tHe matriarch. I WilL apologize Later for such a Mistake. For Now, master has to be with her." As the voice began to get weaker and weaker, the boys' eyes began to return to normal and soon it seemed the original child was in control.

The first thing he did was to run towards his mother and try to raise her with his tiny arms, he was, after all, still eight years old.

"Mother, please, don't leave me." The words seemed to have some effect as he saw her open one eye and give him a tiny smile.

"Hey sunshine, you are late." She said weakly.

"This is not the time for this. I have to get you to a hospital." He tried to move her, but she released a small scream of anguish which made him stop. He then raised her bloodied t-shirt and saw a lot of blood coming out. If he didn't do something soon, he would lose her.

"I need water, knife, and bandages!" But before he could get those things, he was stopped by his own mother who was smiling at him.

"Enough. You can't do anything. I know it is hard, but, please stay with mommy in those last moments." The boy almost couldn't see anything for the amount of tears coming out of him. He never had cried. Not even as a baby, but he couldn't stop now.

IT WASN'T FAIR!

Why his mother had to die? She was good, caring, and never did anything wrong! It was them! The humans' fault! He would kill them!

KILL THEM! KILL THEM! KILL THEM! KILL THEM! KILL THEM! KILL THEM! KILL THEM! KILL THEM! KILL THEM! KILL THEM! KILL THEM! KILL THEM!

And then, he felt a warm hand touch his cheek, it was his mother with a smile and sad eyes.

"I know what you are thinking, but don't go that way. You will become like your grandfather. Live, my son, for them! For the humans. They may not be all good, but that is because they are scared. They don't have anyone to guide them. We were given free will and that is the greatest of gifts, but we need someone to guide us." She stopped to cough some blood.

"Promise me. Promise me you will guide them. You are special; I know you can do it."

"I-I promise mother! I will guide them to the best of my ability, I will save them." He said, not even a shred of doubt in his voice, accepting the huge burden.

"T-That is my little boy." She then began to cry. "My only regret is that I will not be able to see you grow, to see you graduate, fall in love. Mother wanted more time, mother wanted to hug you, to kiss you, to sing to you until you fall asleep, to teach you about girls. There was so much more I wanted to do it with you." She cried as she grew even paler. It was a miracle or the love of a mother for her child which kept her going.

"You already did mom! You done enough, I- I will be ok, I promise you." But as the boy said that, anyone could clearly see he was lying.

"My sunshine, before mommy go, there is one last thing she needs to do." As her trembling hand went to her back, she pulled a cupcake with the words Happy Birthday.

"It is a little kneaded and I didn't get a candle, but mommy is sure it is delicious." She said, voice getting even weaker. "Let us sing a song, for the best son a woman could ask for. Happy birthday to you…" the two of them continued until only one voice could be heard.

As he finished the song, he took the cupcake from the plastic and gave it a bite. With a trembling smile and even more tears, he said.

"Mommy, you were right, it was delicious." As he looked at the peaceful expression on her face, the boy continued to cry until the night had fallen.

It rained that night. A storm, as if the world cried for a boy and was angry at those who brought such sorrow to that person.

* * *

 **Next day**

The kid didn't sleep, if it was simple for the grief of it or if it was because of the throbbing headache that simply didn't go away, no one could know

As he finished involving his mother with a blanket, he made a silent prayer to ask for her to have a nice rest and find her husband.

As he slowly dragged the body to the back of the house, where he had prepared a grave, he remembered her last words.

"Live for the humans!"

How would he ever do it? He had no resources, no one to go to, and nothing to even begin.

He would think about these things later. His mother needed him right now. As he approached the grave, he spotted, coming from far away two camels, each carrying a person.

Quickly, he lowered the body and took the shovel near the grave as he run to hide in a pile of sand nearby.

When the camels got close he could see it was a very old man, with white hair and beard and with only white clothes, including a hat. The other one was what he knew from the books as a butler, with an English mustache and cold steel eyes.

"I can't believe it! What happened here? Where is Bate-Sheba?" The old one asked as he looked around.

Bate-Sheba… That was his mom name, but she had forbidden him from calling her name as she hated it.

"Could they have gotten away sir?" The butler said as he inspected the surroundings.

"I don't know Tabbris; she said she would be fine on her own. Never contacted me! And since the sealing, I can't see as I used to. The only thing that set me off was the fact the rings had disappeared and the fluctuation of energy on the region." They were getting close to what used to be the front door.

Rings? Could he mean those rings the boy now wore and couldn't get it off no matter how hard he tried?

As they passed the house, they noticed his mom body and the old man went to touch her, which the boy quickly came out of his hiding place.

"Stop, don't touch my mother!" The boy said making the butler appear in front of the old man in a fighting pose.

"Tabbris that is enough! Can't you see who this boy is? It is him!" The old man said as he tried to get closer to the kid who promptly moved back.

"Ah, forgive me. By the looks of it, you are on edge. Not that I blame you. My name is Chuck, I am a friend of your mother." He said, offering a hand to the boy who still looked at him with suspicion.

"Mother never spoke about you." He said as he gripped his head as his headache got even worse.

"Well, your mother didn't want me to meet you until much later, but… You don't seem okay." The old man said.

"I am fine! What do you want?" Something inside of him wanted to trust that man, but the headache and the events of yesterday certainly weren't helping it.

"We are here to help." Chuck said as he tried to get closer only for the boy to step back again.

"How do I know I can trust you? No one ever cared for me beside mom. You appear out of nowhere and expect me to believe you. Sorry, but that is not happening." His head seemed like it would explode. What was going on?

"Listen to me, I know the situation doesn't put me in a good light, but you need help, it is running amok. If we let this go, you are going to die!" Chuck said with worry.

"What is running amok?"

"Your magic"

"My what?"

"We don't have time for this! Tabbris!" In a second, the butler was behind the boy's back, giving him a quick hit, which made him almost instantly. His last words were:

"M-mother."

He didn't have a nightmare, but the dream was weird. He was in a giant white balcony of a palace with unknown clothes as what seemed a legion of people cheered his name.

Then a woman with a beauty that seemed out of this word came to him with a small smile."

"My king, your loyal subjects, eagerly await to see you." She said as she took his hand and guided him for the people to see. When he appeared, the screams got even higher, some people fainted, others even cried. Many screamed his name in happiness.

That is my name, but where am I?

"My dear husband, are you alright? I never saw you like this?" The beautiful lady said with concern all over her perfect face.

"But where are we?" Before she could even react, the boy was falling, falling in memories. He saw a man just like him fighting in what he supposed it was a war. He saw himself in the city of Athens, in china with one emperor, as a teacher in what looked like the Middle Ages. They were all him, but, at the same time, were not.

Finally, he was staring at what looked like an older version of him in a golden garden.

"Hello." The older one said with a smile of someone who knew things.

"Hello?" The kid said as he looked around to the field of flowers that seemed to go endlessly.

"You are probably wondering why you are here. I don't blame you, I would probably have a lot of questions too, but now is not the time for that. Not with our benefactor waiting outside."

"Benefactor? You mean Chuck?"

"Chuck? That is what he is calling himself nowadays?" the older one laughed.

"Who are you?"

"I thought you knew. I am you after all."

"That doesn't make a lot of sense, but, somehow, I know I can trust you."

"Wow, are you sure about this? I could be some sort of evil guy trying to kill you."

"I don't think you can do that. No, I know you can't do that."

"Hoh. So you already can notice this far… It seems our powers are indeed coming back and the curse is going away."

"Powers? Curse? What are you talking about?" The boy said without a hint of fear.

"You seem calm about this. Even if you are the first to ever reach this point."

"Again, I have no idea what you are talking about! Could you please explain it? "

"It is kind of complicated to tell you everything right now." Suddenly, a large tremor echoed everywhere on the garden and the older one let out a chuckle. "Listen you got to go, Chuck is calling for you. After he is done, I will be sure to call you back here. After all, you still have not met your other benefactor."

"Who?" The garden trembled once again as a lone red eye with pupil in shape of the cardinal cross stared at the boy.

"I will be waiting master! Next time, call me by name as you used to!" And with that, the kid was pulled away from the garden at full speed.

The first thing he saw, were the stars. Infinity of them seemed to stretch around the dark sky.

He rose from what looked like a sleeping bag and noticed his headache was gone.

"Finally awake Young Master?" The butler said. The boy noticed he was cooking something near the fire. It smelled simply heavenly.

"Welcome to the land of the living, my boy. Feeling better?" Chuck said with a laugh as he approached from who knows where?

"My mother?" he asked as he looked around to catch a grave surrounded by strange flowers which also seemed to come out of nowhere.

"we did the heavy lifting, but here is the last rose for you to put at her grave." Chuck said as he gave the boy the flower and somehow that voice seemed really familiar.

 _ **｢**_ _ **You are qualified. Speak your wishes. I shall grant it**_ _ **｣**_

Impossible! If the memories of his past were right, then this man was…

"You are a very knowing for someone who just completed nine years. May I know the name of such a brilliant boy?" Chuck said with a knowing look.

"I thought you already knew that."

"Ah, but is only common courtesy to introduce yourself. I think we will be spending a long, long time together my boy."

How many years had been since no one called his name? Always things like monster or devil spawn. The boy opened his mouth and said the word which would be in every single human's lips in a few years.

"My name is Solomon."

* * *

 **So that is a wrap, can't believe I did it. It got a little dark in the end, but I think It was necessary. Anyway, how many of you even guessed the boy's name was Solomon, the Great King of Old? I think all who played FGO got it in the middle of the chapter. Please tell me your thoughts, if you think it is good. If you think it is bad, what should I do in relation to my writing… That kind of stuff. I will be eagerly waiting.**

 **Before I forget, please tell me your favorite heroes or heroines. They may end up in this story.**


	2. Chapter 2 - The truth?

**Hello everyone, Whisper of dreams here with the second chapter of king of humans. First, I would like to say that even if I said that I would try to make this story weekly I realized it would be impossible, for me, to make good content with only one week. So expect it to be monthly as I try to get better and better with my writing.**

 **I would like to thank JesterX3 for being the first to favorite and follow this story. Thanks for the vote of confidence; I hope I can attend to your expectations.**

 **Before I forget, this can be considered the second part of the prologue.**

 **Thank you for all the reviews, I will be sure to answer some of them, beginning next chapter. Now, on with the story!**

 **PS: Please, be kind with the reviews, it is my first fic and English is not my first language. I will begin to look for a beta, but until then, I ask for just a bit of your patience. The beginning may be slow, but it will be worth it.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Highschool DXD, FGO or any of the series that will be used! I don't want that much trouble!**

* * *

What makes one human?

Is it their small lives?

Is it their feelings?

Is it their desires?

Is it their feats? The story they leave behind?

Or maybe it is simply their free will and desire to reach ever higher.

Whatever it is, one thing was certain.

Humans were dangerous, even if they were weak. And if left unchecked, they would cause problems even they themselves couldn't handle. They need someone to guide them. To show them the way.

"My name is Solomon." The silver haired boy said looking at the old man.

The man started walking towards Solomon's house "What a beautiful and enchanting name. Chuck said, his tone light, as if he weren't looking at the wrecks of a house, as if he wasn't talking to a kid he had never met, as if he hadn't just found a body and buried it. "How long has it been my boy? One Thousand or maybe Two Thousand years since we met face to face?"

The man's voice seemed to unlock something inside the boy, as a wave of memories hit him, Solomon fell down clutching his head and gritting his teeth, the rose thorns biting into his palm, trying not to scream as he was bombarded by years of memories that weren't his, lives he had never lived and knowledge he had never had before. He knew who was standing before him now.

"You honor me once again with your presence, Creator." Solomon said as he bowed, only, it wasn't really him doing that. It was as if someone else were directing his body, putting words in his mouth, controlling his limbs. He could feel his fists clenching so tight his arms shook, knuckles turning white as bone, he could feel the rose stem getting crushed, but he didn't know why, or even if he was the one doing it.

"Stop that, you have always been too uptight, which is why I allowed you to live as a human. So that you could be an even better king when the time came." He entered the house as if he owned the place, kicking pieces of furniture as he walked, "So tell me, how was it, being truly human?" his voice grew fainter as he moved farther inside without bothering to look if he was being followed.

Solomon straightened up and walked towards the place where the man had buried his mother, their yard was covered in flowers now, he knew they wouldn't last, they couldn't, not in this climate, not without someone who knew how to care for them, but it was a nice gesture, he supposed.

Solomon left the rose there, "I will be back, mom, I promise, I swear I will be back to talk to you soon, I just need to get these people out of the house." he would not mourn her now, not when he was being watched. He turned around and started walking, he could still hear the man talking and asking questions, he just couldn't make out what those questions were.

"I don't remember everything but… it was good, I think." He said coming inside the house, he didn't really understand what had happened, but he knew he didn't want to talk about his lives, about _this_ life with this man who he remembered but didn't know, even if he only saw glimpses.

"I do have some questions, though, Creator, if you don't mind." The boy said cautiously sitting on the floor and trying not to look at anything, the events of the night before still too fresh on his mind.

"I don't mind at all. Fire away!" Chuck said as he sat on a salvaged chair from the mess around them. Tabbris served him some tea that appeared from nowhere. Solomon thought this was probably what grandfathers were like. The boy wondered why his mother didn't want this man in his life.

"Why does it seem like people hate me? I like living as a human, but everyone always seems to hate me, specially this time."

"Ah, that's a very easy question, I was hoping you would have harder ones. Do you remember when you said that you could be punished in case you were needed and weren't there?" As he nodded, Chuck continued. "Well, that's your punishment. Your subject's anger and sadness over being abandoned, their grudge, put a curse on you. A curse of suffering."

"Is that so?" The previous king said, his eyes piercing as he stared straight at the old man, his nails biting on his palm to keep himself from saying anything more.

"Those marks on your arms are actually curse marks. They also seal your magic. As your powers grew, so did the strength of your curse. Your first reincarnation lived a perfect normal life. You weren't rich, but you were incredibly happy.

"So why did those people treat me better yesterday?" he was leaning forward, speaking faster, he couldn't believe he would finally be able to have a normal life his mother would be so- his mother would not be here to see. "Is the curse broken?"

"The curse is still there, people will get angry at you or even hate you for no reason. However, your magic has also started to come back, it has begun to fight the curse. Unfortunately, it won't be enough to erase the calamity that is infesting your body." Chuck said as he sat and accepted a bowl of whatever Tabbris was cooking.

"So why did they help me?" he gripped his hair, he didn't understand it, nothing made sense anymore, he _knew_ the words made sense, could understand what Chuck was saying in a way, but he didn't understand them and he couldn't comprehend what was happening to him and he _didn't know how he knew_.

Solomon took a deep breath, trying to calm down, he couldn't break down now, not now, he didn't know if he would have another chance like this, another chance to get answers. "If everything is still the same, if I'm still being punished for mistakes that aren't mine, what was different this time?"

"As I said, your powers are coming back and that includes your natural charisma that had been locked away, along with your memories and magic powers. Your headache was the sealed energy going haywire. I adjusted your circuits, so it is stable for now." He took a sip from whatever was in the bowl

"Can't you undo it? The curse I mean."

"Unfortunately, I cannot." He took another sip, "I have decided this is a trial. If you are to meet my requirements, you should be able to overcome something as simple as a lowly curse."

Tabbris took the bowl from Chuck without a word, "Thank you, Tabbris, you are the best helper I've ever had."

Solomon looked around him, at the destruction brought by his curse, he thought about his mother buried in the backyard and couldn't help but be sure that Chuck certainly didn't was nothing like the good old man he tried so hard to disguise himself as.

"Was my mother killed because of the curse too?" Solomon asked, his voice wavering.

"To tell you the truth, your mother was one of the variables I didn't take into account." Chuck answered, caressing his beard with the hand not holding the bowl, "I approached her and told what you were, what you were destined to become and that I could handle that burden, but she rejected the offer, saying she would raise you herself." He smiled, but it wasn't a nice smile, "She even forbid me from approaching you before you were sixteen." The smile definitely had a sharp edge now, "And we can see how that turned out. Man makes plans and God laughs."

For the first time, Solomon noticed something akin as irritation or perhaps, disgust, on his voice.

"So, is that what my mother was? A simple variable that could be disposed of anytime? A number? A tool to raise me? Didn't you care about her at all?!" he all but screamed at the ancient being.

It could be said that it would take a lot of guts to talk to the Creator in that tone. However, Solomon was still a boy who had just lost his mother and found out she might have died because he was cursed. He could not deal with anyone disrespecting her memory by calling her a tool.

Gods don't really take that into account though.

As soon as the boy finished his outburst he noticed the room had grown cold, the shadows seemed deeper, almost as if they were solid, and they were moving on their own, and Chuck, well, Chuck was different.

His eyes were burning and he seemed to be bigger, big enough he shouldn't be able to fit inside the house, his face was hard and cold and Solomon felt shivers running down his spine, and he wanted to run, but his legs were frozen in place and he wanted to fall to his knees, but he was sitting down and couldn't get up for the life of him.

"A number? Oh, no. She was, after all, one of my precious creations, so of course I cared for her." His voice was cold, so, so cold, "I care for all of my creations, you know?"

His eyes were piercing right into Solomon's soul, he could feel something inside him trying to make itself smaller, trying to hide, he didn't know what it was, but he wished he could do the same.

"I created all of you, so I love all of you, and all I ask, is a little respect, _boy_ , for no father can let his children do as they please. Even if he loves them." The boy could feel the pressure diminishing, the room growing warmer again, "So remember that, next time you decide to raise your voice at me, or accuse me of something." The shadows became just shadows once again, and Chuck was looking like a human once more.

"Then why didn't you help us? Aren't you God. All powerful? All knowing? Why didn't you ignore her when she said to leave us alone and helped us?" his body was still trembling and he still wanted to run away from there, but he had to know.

"Why, it's quite simple, really, free will. It was granted so that humanity could move on its own, I decided to respect at least that." As he said that, Solomon could see that he talked of humanity like a person talks about their pet.

Deciding that is was futile to continue on this line of argument, he made one last question, "Will she be ok at least?"

"I made sure she encountered her husband, David, in the Third Heaven where the souls of the dead go. It's what she deserves for all the services she did for me."

The god talked about sending his mother to heaven as if it was nothing more than a reward for being a good servant, but Solomon didn't care, he was too relieved to know his mother would finally be in peace. Still, he was confused. "Third Heaven? What do you mean third, I thought there was only Heaven."

"There are several Heavens, my Heaven, Christianity's Heaven, is divided in regions and the third region, the Third Heaven, is where the soul of the dead who have been taken to my Heaven go. That's where your mother is, Solomon."

"Thank you." He said, relieved. "I always thought my mother was an angel, now she can watch over me with them from above, like she always said she would." He smiled a bit, thinking about how that would make her happy.

"The angels, now, that might be a problem." The mood darkened as the old man said that.

' _Let me deal with this_.' The child heard a voice, it was close, like someone was talking beside him.

As he looked around him, he saw that there was no one else in the room. However, he heard it again.

' _You won't find me out there, I'm inside you.'_ Solomon started panicking.

' _What do you mean "you are inside me?" who are you?!'_

' _Calm down, I won't hurt you, I promise, I'm a part of you after all, well, a part of your soul. I am_ _the original Solomon.'_

' _Was it you I felt earlier? Hiding?'_

'… _Yes.'_

' _Then Why would I let you "deal with this", you are scared, even more scared than I am, I know, I can feel it even now, you still want to hide, don't you?'_

' _Because you are a child. No matter if I'm scared or terrified, you would be as well if you understood what you are getting into. You are just a boy, you should not have to handle things like this, I am here, I can help. Please, let me help._ ' Solomon felt the desperation, the truth, in those words, the voice, the Original Solomon, whatever or whoever he was, wanted to help. Maybe he could let it.

' _How would that work?'_

' _I could take over your body for a few moments, you would still see everything. As if you were watching a movie'_

' _No side effects?'_

' _None. I promise you.'_

' _Then, I trust you. This time'_

That conversation happened in the matter of seconds as the two Solomons traded places.

"I apologize for my arrogance, Creator, but, now, I am ready to know what I am dealing with." If Chuck noticed, he either didn't show or cared, which was a frightening thought.

"Eager to begin huh? That's what I like to see."

' _Stop being such a doormat. I am not his servant, he has never done anything for me_ ' the child said.

' _He is one of the most powerful beings in existence. If we are not careful, one can only wonder what he will do. Now, be quiet. We need to understand what is going on.'_

"You are troubled. As an instrument of your will, please, let me help alleviate your burden." Solomon smiled as he continued to bow.

"No need for such formalities, but you are right. Trying to take it easy now would only complicate things along the way. So, I will be straightforward with you." the old man said, his voice clear, his tone serious. "To all, but the three of us, I, the God of the Bible, am dead."

"What do you mean? You are right here, standing before me. How are you dead?" The king couldn't comprehend what was being said by his mentor.

"Things have changed. I no longer hold the power I once held." The Creator said, his voice strained, his posture tense.

"What could have possibly caused you to leave the throne of-" he said before the butler answered his question.

"Trihexa." The simple mention of that name made the stars themselves seem to disappear from the night sky, as if hiding in fear of being devoured.

"What or who is that?" In the times he spoke with the Creator, He had never mentioned such a name.

"A beast which only purpose is destruction. It exists since the dawn of time itself or, perhaps, even before it. The point is, the creature put its sights on this planet and naturally came for it. So I went to stop it." Chuck said with sad eyes.

"Alone, I couldn't defeat him. The other gods of creation: Brahma, Chaos, Amon-Ra, Izanagi and Izanami also noticed and, together, we tried our best to defeat the beast." He sighed.

"It was a nightmare, my brothers and sisters gave everything we had, but the beast overpowered us at each step and, in the end, some of us like Izanagi and Izanami had perished. Amon-Ra was betrayed by one of its fellow gods and disappeared; Brahma who had suffered a mortal wound, left to recuperate its strength, vowing never to reveal the existence of the beast, fearing it could be used by other vengeful gods. Chaos was obliterated and struggles to even retain its form." The god closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, maybe he was trying not to cry, maybe he was disappointed by the utter fiasco the battle seemed to have been, neither Solomon could say for sure.

After a few seconds he started talking again, "But in the end, the struggle wasn't in vain, as in a last and desperate act, I, using my own essence, was able to put thousands of seals on the creature, trapping it away in some far-flung dimension." Solomon's body was still, the tale of a beast so powerful an army of gods couldn't stop it too much for him to comprehend.

"The problem came after that. Without us to balance the world, war among the factions erupted. Millions died and the damage to the very earth was incalculable." His voice became softer, as if mourning for those lost lives, for the collateral damage in a war they had no part in.

"However, as things were beginnings to get better. A three way war among my faction broke out. I was weakened due to the fight against Trihexa and the seals which constantly absorb my energy." Solomon saw the god clenching his fists.

"As things were getting to the climax, my angels had the upper hand and prepared to end the war, the unexpected happened. The devils and the fallen corrupted a human who carried a weapon I had designed. With him, they launched a desperate attack to our base." Somehow, Solomon could almost hear the screams of the three sub-factions as the story was told.

"In the end, I managed to kill the Four Great Satans of the devil faction and destroy most of the fallen's army. However, the human managed to strike me with the weapon. I should have died there and only survived due to, once again, sacrificing great part of my powers. I managed to escape, forming a weaker vessel, one which you are talking to now." Chuck said gesturing to himself.

"A weapon that can kill gods… I can't even imagine something like that exists." Solomon said horrified.

"Not one, but many, although that weapon, the Holy Spear, is indeed the strongest in terms of pure power, I created many of them with that very intent."

"But with what purpose-" He stopped when he saw the glare that God of the Bible was giving him.

"Even if you look like a child, you are no longer one Solomon. It is not only about angels, fallen and devils. It is much more than that. The other gods can't survive another war. In the front, they may be at odds with each other, but make no mistake; the other factions seem to be, slowly, negotiating for peace. It won't be now, nor tomorrow, but in a few years, it will come."

' _I_ am _a child. I think I am beginning to see why mother didn't want us to be raised by him.'_

' _Now is not the time. We will discuss this later in private.'_

"But shouldn't peace be a good thing?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes. But, if peace is achieved, Young Master, who do you think will be their victim?" The butler spoke, entering the discussion.

Solomon thought about it for a moment, before coming to a realization.

"Humanity. They will focus their attention on us!" Solomon said, his eyes widening in surprise.

"Do you think this war of yours is natural Solomon? Humans are greedy, but they also known compassion. The Gulf war, World War II or any other modern war could have begun because of Humanity, but you can rest assured, the other gods turned it into their little playground." Chuck was looking at Solomon with a serious expression, he meant every word he said, the gods were using humans to their own amusement and purposes.

"They never paid much attention to the humans, since they were always at war with each other. But peace leads to boredom, and boredom leads to a search for entertainment, and what would make a better toy than six billion of existences that can't fight back. Who would do absolutely everything to please them, follow their every command?"

"Then these weapons you have created…"

"I call them sacred gears. My- No, _our_ original purpose was to let humans do the miracle of reaching for the gods. To strike at them, to keep themselves safe. Your rings were the prototype and also the first sacred gear I created."

As the boy looked at the rings, he could almost feel them call to him. Almost begging him to use them. He touched them and felt them humming with power, almost vibrating.

"Wait, you said "Our intent". Don't tell me that-" he couldn't say it. It was too unthinkable to even be considered.

"Yes Solomon. Unlike what many believe, it was us, The Gods of Creation, who created the Sacred Gears." He smiled.

"To raise weapons against your kind. Creator, why would you do such a thing?" Solomon didn't raise his voice, but the confusion was clear, why would anyone knowingly create the instruments to assure their own death.

"You are our children, our precious creation. Our fellow gods, Odin, Zeus, Osiris, Amaterasu, and many others… They don't see what you have. You instigated our interest to see how would you go and shape your future!" Chuck said as a fan eagerly waited for the next chapter for entertainment.

' _He says that. But, in a way, isn't he treating us as toys too?'_ the older one couldn't even rebuke that argument.

"So, when Izanami saw that humanity's free will would end up becoming extinct and humans were nothing more than toys of the gods, we knew we had to act. The fight with Trihexa stopped us from intervening directly against the other factions or the fallen and the devils. So, we decided to entrust this world to-"

"To us. To humanity itself." The Original Solomon pulled on a curl of hair until it hurt. He was just so angry, he couldn't believe the gods would do that to humanity.

"Yes, but before we could even begin planning, we saw that Humanity itself was already creating precautions to fight." Chuck said, his eyes shining with excitement. Such was his attitude even Tabbris laughed a little.

"A precaution that Humanity itself created was the so called 'Heroes'. I think you heard of them." When he said heroes, Solomon heard something, voices, many voices calling for him, so many he couldn't understand what they were saying or what they wanted. He tried to ignore them for the moment, too much was happening right now, he didn't have time to deal with more.

"So, what you are saying is that…"

"We want humanity to be free Solomon. Free from the shackles that we hold, as it should have been all those thousands of years ago."

"But to do that, we would need to kill the other factions." Horror shocked him.

"Not necessarily in all cases, I am sure some of the gods would leave humanity to its own devices. However, many of them are too far gone to stop toying with you." Chuck made a dismissive gesture with his hand, as if killing gods would be no harder than squashing a bug.

"And where exactly do I fit in this grand plan of yours?" Solomon asked.

"That is the million-dollar question isn't it? I want you to be the leader of humanity." Chuck said it as if it was nothing, as if it were something inconsequential, as if he weren't putting the life of every single human being on Solomon's shoulders.

"Forgive me, but, I don't understand." He said with a blank face, the boy couldn't understand and the original Solomon refused to. Refused to accept that he would, once more, have lives thrust upon him without his consent refused to carry the burden of being responsible for thousands. No, not thousands, it would be billions this time.

"It isn't that hard to understand Solomon, I raised you to be their king. The others have already agreed to it." His tone was final, as if Solomon's opinion didn't matter, then again, they never really did.

"I-I can't." everything stopped as the smile on Chuck's face vanished and Tabbris looked stunned to the king.

"You can't? What do you mean you can't?" The Creator's voice was sharp and cutting like a knife.

"I can't. If you had asked of me to guide my people, I would do it. If you had asked for me to walk the desert for hundreds of years, I would do it. If you asked me to pay for my sins for eternity, I would have, but this, this I can't do." Solomon said as he bowed his head.

"And why is that?" Confusion had taken place in Chuck's voice.

"I am not worthy. I abandoned my people once. I left them for my own selfishness. I left them to suffer. I-I can't be sure that I won't do it again." Solomon bit the inside of his cheek, he clenched his fists until his nails bit into his palms, the pain would keep him in control, kings don't cry, kings don't show emotion.

He felt a comforting hand in his shoulder. Looking up, he saw a smile on the elder's face. "That is exactly why you are worthy. You don't take anything for granted. Never, not in a single one of your past lives, were you arrogant, brash or did you treat people differently for no reason. We tested so many heroes, from the old legends of Uruk to the ones in the modern wars, but only you understood, what it meant to be human."

' _Tested? I think you mean you used them. Just like he wants to use me. No, use us.''_

"But I can't do it on my own-"

"Who said you would be alone? That is where your sacred gear comes into place."

"Do you mean them?"

"Exactly! The rings weren't the only thing that was granted to you, although they are one and the same, I gave you a system. A system to protect and guard humanity"

' _Who are you guys talking about?'_

' _Keep watching. You will find out soon enough.'_

"Goetia and the seventy two demon pillars." As he said that, he felt a pull at the back of his mind.

"Correct once again, I gave them to you. When you entrusted the rings to the future, the seventy two became self-aware and created their own identities. At first, they complied with your orders to guard humanity, but my creation, Lucifer, corrupted that and made them into the families who govern hell, including the Great Four."

He remembered them. That day he gave up his blessings, he remembered when they begged for him to reconsider, he doesn't think he will ever be able to forget, some decisions stick in your memory clear as day even after centuries and lives.

He can feel the memory taking over him even as he sticks his nails on his tight to try and focus on the present.

* * *

Flashback

"To truly become human." As he said that, voices in his head rose to express their dissatisfaction.

"Your majesty, what is this madness?"

"You cannot be serious-."

"Humanity needs you-"

"WE need you!"

" _Don't you dare leave me you fucking bastard!"_

"What will become of us!?"

But the king didn't care, he pretended not to listen, he ignored the tens of voices all screaming for him not to leave them, for him not to leave them adrift. He never listened to their pleas when they went against his own wishes.

End of Flashback.

* * *

"They would never forgive me for abandoning them" the older one lied. He had talked with the seventy two before, some of them had understood and forgave his actions. Some of them still held a grudge, but their love for their master was still there, very much alive. Even if manifested as pettiness and a need for vengeance. You don't feel the need to hurt someone back unless they still matter.

"They did, they lived their whole lives with you, but the pain remained, and that's what Lucifer used to manipulate them." Chuck said, in what he probably thought was a comforting tone "Even as we speak, they are nothing more than powerhouses to the great houses of hell."

"However, more than half of them ceased to exist after the great war, returning to their simple duty of watching over humanity and retiring inside the ring." He petted his beard, looking thoughtful, "The problem are those who remain." Solomon felt his heart ache, thinking of his friends as nothing more than a power source.

' _So, you enslaved seventy two creatures and forced them to do what you wished, only to set them aside when they were no longer useful?'_ The Original Solomon could feel the anger and the disgust on the child's voice _'You were a real bastard, I mean, a real fucking asshole, you know that, right?'_

' _I didn't consider them slaves. I consider them my friends, companions who shared my burden.'_ Solomon knew that what he did in the end was terrible, but The Seventy Two had been his friend, his companions, not his slaves, and no one could question that. Not even himself. _'But I was selfish, I left them to get what I wanted, and I will never forgive myself for that.'_

' _Well, mother always believed in second chances. So, if you truly regret, I guess you can always start anew right? And I kinda want to meet them, and thank them for saving and protecting me.'_

' _You are a very strange child. You keep changing your mind about things, keep changing your mind about me.'_

' _That's just how kids are, mom used to say. Besides, the world isn't simple, you know, sometimes you have to look at things differently, you can learn something new and find out you were wrong.' The boy paused for a minute, giving Solomon a chance to absorb what he had said, 'If you refuse to change and admit you were wrong, well, then you will never grow, will you?'_

' _Your mother was an amazing woman, truly.' Solomon couldn't help the longing on his voice, if only someone had taught him that before, when he was still alive, if only someone had showed him it was okay to be wrong sometimes, then maybe things would be different._

' _She was the best mom ever.' The boy answered, proud enough Solomon could just picture him stuffing his chest and posturing._

' _Fair enough,' he said, amused, 'we will be talking again very soon, right now, I have to focus.'_

"Something tells me they are not going to give the cores back willingly." Solomon said as he focused once again on the real world.

"As the master said, they are powerhouses to the devils. You will have to rip it out of the head of the family so that they can regain freedom. A very dirty tactic employed by the traitor of heaven." Tabbris said, coming up behind Solomon and putting his hand on the boy's shoulder.

"But wouldn't that be the same as erasing their existence?" Solomon asked, his eyes wide.

"Yes, but, I decided that will be their punishment for their greatest crime: Conversion."

"What is that?" Before the creator continued, the butler stepped in.

"Sir, you have already suffered too much. Allow this servant of yours to humbly take your place in this task." Tabbris said as he bowed.

Chuck would have complained, but even Solomon noticed the pain in his eyes. He gave a nod and went to Solomon mother's grave to give his final good byes.

"The master has been pushing his limits and it would be unwise to force him." The man said in a tone that left no space for discussion.

"I should be the one to apologize. I didn't even think he could be in pain or too weak to have this conversation." He said ashamed. Actually, Solomon didn't even think the Creator _could_ feel pain, he had never displayed any emotions aside from amusement, and anger when things didn't go his way.

"Indeed." Tabbris sat down on the floor in front of him "He has been pushing himself too hard for eons. It's time for him to consider his health." He sighed, "Forgive my rudeness, I am Tabbris, Master Chuck's butler." He had a sweet voice, the butler, gentle, and a calming presence.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Tabbris." Solomon smiled

"The same could be said for me." Tabbris put his hands over his knees, assuming a serious expression "Now, we don't have much time, ask me your questions."

"What is this Conversion He was talking about?"

"After the great war, the devils were in decline; their population had been cut in half. Desperate as those vermin were, they came up with a solution, they started turning humans into devils." Solomon's expression of disgust was all Tabbris needed to keep going.

"Conversion is the process of transformation from human to devil. Soon, the fallen started doing something similar, however, they do prefer to form a relationship with the humans, mixing their blood." Tabbris sneer left no room for doubt about what he thought of that, "Finally, the angels, who were in disadvantage, had no choice but adopt a similar process."

He could hear his younger version vomiting or trying to at least inside of their head, he didn't understand why, it was clear the humans weren't turned against their will, they had a choice - besides, it was a rather clever solution to maintain numbers and avoid losing the war, all things told.

"So, humans are being made into devils, fallen and angels," Solomon repeated to himself, his voice low and wondering, his finger wrapping around a lock of hair and pulling lightly, "But that goes against everything that God had intended. Human life is beautiful because it is short. It gives us a need to leave a mark on this world, to not be forgotten."

"Exactly, what those vermin have been doing is a sin!" Tabbris leaned his body closer to Solomon and started gesturing wildly with his hands, "My master, in his infinite forgiveness, always tried to find a peaceful solution to this three-way war," his tone growing more and more frantic the longer he talked, "But something like this can be neither forgiven nor forgotten."

Tabbris's eyes burned with unholy rage, "As long as the fallen or the devils exist, there can be no peace, for when humans change, they lose what made them human, they lose their souls."

' _More like he was too weak to do it. That guy is certainly not merciful, no matter what his servant over there says.'_

' _Stop it, Solomon, He was our savior!'_

' _That didn't stop him from leaving our mother to die, or from letting her suffer my whole life without lifting a finger to help.'_ The younger one said in disgust. _'Besides, if he is so good, why did he make me pay for your mistakes?'_

' _You know as well as I do that-'_

' _But I don't know!_ ' the boy screamed, _'All that I know is that my mother is dead and this guy doesn't even want to give us the time to mourn her. It isn't fair.'_ His voice grew fainter with every word, Solomon could hear the trembling tone, could imagine the boy holding back his tears.

 _Life isn't fair._ That is what the older one wanted to say, but his younger version had suffered too much, he knew better than anyone that the world wasn't fair, there was no need to say it.

' _Listen, I know it isn't easy, and I know you don't want to hear it right now, but we need to focus. I promise you, we will have time to cry and mourn her.'_

After what seemed an eternity, he heard a grumble that resembled a _'fine'_ and decided to focus on what Tabbris was saying.

"Young master, are you listening to me? You seemed to be somewhere else for a few moments there."

"I'm sorry, Tabbris, it's just-" Solomon pulled his hair harder "This is a lot. There's too much happening and I can't deal with it all." He sighed "It won't happen again."

"I understand, but this is important, you should be paying attention." The man reprimanded him, "so, as I was saying, it falls on you, Young Master Solomon, to not only recover what is rightfully yours, but to also punish these races for this unforgivable sin. A sin that my master and his fellow Creators worked so hard to prevent."

"I will do it. I will protect humanity and avenge them." Solomon said as he remembered why he wanted to become human in the first place.

"Good." Tabbris smiled at Solomon. "I guess he is ready for you." He said, looking at something above Solomon's shoulder.

Solomon startled as he turned around and saw Chuck coming closer, he hadn't even heard him coming back in.

"With that out of the way, we can focus on the situation at hand. We need you to regain all the knowledge that is sealed into your soul. And for that, you have to meet the First." Chuck said, putting his hand on Solomon's head.

' _Wait, that means, he doesn't know you are the one in control right now?'_

' _It seems so. Maybe he is indeed weakened, I never thought he would be unable to notice the difference between our souls. For now, we will exchange places, since you still haven't learned how to go inside the depths of our mind._

' _Alright.'_

The exchange was made and once again, and it didn't seem as if someone had noticed, from what the boy could see, at least.

"The first? You mean the first Solomon, my first life?" he said feigning ignorance.

"In a way, yes. However, he is also the receptacle for all the memories of all your past lives." Chuck paused for a while, seeming almost regretful, "While he may exist for now, one day, you will join him and become a single existence."

"But isn't he his own person too? Wouldn't that kill us both?"

"The effects on the soul are always a mystery. However, to protect humanity, such sacrifices are necessary." The boy was about to retort when he heard the 'First' talk to him.

'I can sense your anger. Calm down, I know that you feel as if he's just using us like sacrificial lambs, but you have to play along for now. So, come to me after and then we can try and find a way fix this, to make sure it doesn't happen.'

It wasn't much, but it was just enough for him to let go of a little of his anger.

As he laid down, he waited as the ancient conjured a few magic circles which surrounded them.

"Take as long as you need, time doesn't move the same way in the depths of the mind. We will be waiting." Tabbris said with a reassuring smile.

Suddenly, Solomon felt himself falling, no, not falling exactly, it was more as if he was being pushed inside a hole so deep he thought it would go on forever, until, suddenly, he hit the ground. He was inside his mind, no, he was inside his own conscience, or his soul, he didn't know how to explain, but he knew this place wasn't his alone.

* * *

Solomon's mind.

As he looked around, he could see the golden garden in which his past self was patiently waiting, sitting in a white chair. The boy got up and started to move towards him, as he got closer, the older one summoned another chair and gestured for him to sit down. He saw he had golden manacles on his wrists and ankles, there was also a golden collar on his neck. They were attached to chains that clinked together whenever he moved, Solomon couldn't see where they lead to.

"Thank you for joining me today. It has been boring all those years without anyone to talk with." He said as the younger one sat.

"You sure do sound and look a lot like a human, I don't see why you think you aren't one." The boy said sitting down, "You feel like one too, he said remembering the fear and the guilt he felt when the other man was on his body.

"It wasn't like that." The Original said, with a sad smile, "I lived countless lives and I have each and every one of their memories, I have had centuries to learn how to feel."

"Seems legit. Our 'benefactor' said I had to come here to regain my powers, it would make sense for you to be the source of those powers, you are the reason I'm in this mess after all."

"You really don't like him, do you?" His older version, the original, whatever he was, smiled bitterly, somehow, Solomon thought that he wasn't used to smiling, not real smiles, at least. It seemed like his face was more used to sadness, it just fit more comfortably. A smile would probably look awkward on him, even if it didn't on Solomon and they had the same face.

Well. It's not like they were the same person. Just because smiles suited Solomon it didn't mean they would suit this guy. "Can you blame me? It's not like he helped us."

"He wanted to respect your mother's wishes. At least try to understand that." The other Solomon told him in an admonishing tone.

"Shut up, shut up, shut upsHUTUPSHUTUP!" He couldn't take it anymore, he refused to let this guy tell him how to feel. He wanted to scream, to break something, to destroy something, he just wanted to stop feeling so angry and sad and confused. He wanted to see something just as broken as he was.

"I won't try to understand him! I refuse, okay?!" he got up from his chair and kicked it with all his strength. "my mother is dead because he didn't want to interfere!" he kicked it again and again and again, it hurt his foot, but that was good, the pain was good, he could understand that. "She died and he could have stopped it and he didn't and I will never forgive him for it, do you understand?! Never!"

He fell to his knees and started crying. The other one, the older Solomon, got up and came closer, he kneeled down next to him. Solomon was sobbing so hard his chest ached, the other one reached out with his hand, hesitatingly, almost as if he were afraid to touch him. Solomon didn't care, he threw himself on his other self's arms.

He could feel the older man stiffening. He was terrible at this, didn't know how to hug at all. "You are awful at this." He sniffed.

"I know," the other said, and started to hauntingly pet his hair, "Sorry. I told you I wasn't that good at being a person." He loosened up some, now it was a bit less like hugging a wooden board. Still awkward, though. "But I got better. Remembering is not the same as experiencing, but it helped me understand a bit better."

"You still suck pretty hard." He still had tears running down his face, he didn't think he would stop crying anytime soon.

"Sorry." He was still petting his hair and making soothing motions on his back with his other hand. It was nice.

"It's just- It's too much." He took a deep shuddering breath before continuing, "Until yesterday I was just a kid, just a normal kid, and now my mom died and I have to save the world." He hid his face on the other's chest, "I don't know how to deal with this."

"Solomon," the king said, in a low voice, sounding surer than he had ever since Solomon started to hear him. "I'm going to tell you something I wish anyone had said to me when I was younger," he held the boy tighter, "you are a child, you don't have to know everything, _you are allowed to feel overwhelmed_ , it's not your duty to handle this on your own."

"I won't let you be forced to grow up too fast like I was, I'm here to help you, I don't expect you to know what to do all the time." Solomon just held him tighter, tried to bury his face on his chest, he wouldn't have to do this alone he was just so relieved. "I will be here to guide you, and if you need, I can take over for a while, like I did earlier, it's… tiring. But I won't leave to deal with this mess alone."

"They said you would disappear, that sooner or later you would become a part of me, or maybe I would become a part of you, I'm not sure." Solomon was still holding him as if he was a life line, he couldn't lose his grip, his body just didn't want to cooperate, "I don't want to be alone again, I don't want you to go away."

"They were wrong, Solomon." the king bent his head and kissed the Solomon's hair, "Trust me, they do not understand exactly how this works, they thought that it would always be just _me_ , that in each and every life I would remain the same. They were wrong." He could feel him smiling, "All my other lives, they are not me, we are not the same person, we share a soul, yes, but we are different."

"I know. I noticed that, you look like me, but you don't act like me, you don't even _feel_ like I feel."

"Yes. So, I'm not going away, and you are not going away either. I will stay down here."

"No." Solomon lifted his head and looked the other in the eyes, "You will not stay here, you are going to go somewhere where it will be easier for me to see you." His voice just dared the king to contradict him, his grip on the robes he wore so tight he was surprised he hadn't ripped them yet "You promised you would be with me, well, then _be with me_."

"You would share your body and mind so freely?" his other self sounded surprised, as if he wasn't used to people being nice to him either. Seems like they only came to him when they needed things. Well. That would change now.

"You know what they say, sharing is caring." He nodded decisively.

The king started laughing, he laughed so hard he fell backward, and dragged Solomon with him, since they were still holding each other. "You are truly a marvel." He said smiling, when he finally got his breath back from laughing. Solomon was right, smiles did settle awkwardly on his face. That would have to change too.

"Do they hurt?" he asked, holding one of the golden chains.

"No, not really, they just hold me here." The king said, sitting up with Solomon on his lap.

"Are you sure?" he asked again, he could see something glimmering on the original's wrist, he was pretty sure it was blood.

"Yes." He said, once again, and Solomon knew he was lying. "ever since I can remember, they've held me here, I got used to it."

The original sighed, "Don't worry about them, we have more pressing concerns right now," Solomon made a disgruntled noise. Fine. One problem at a time. "you came here to learn, to remember what I can do, but bear in mind, just because you remember how to do it, doesn't mean you will be able to."

"What do you mean by that?"

"When I was king, I was at my best, magic ran free in my body and I had access to the full might of the Seventy Two demon gods."

"Now, we only have a little more than half of the pillars and our magic circuits have been strained by the curse and lack of use." He sat down and carded his fingers through his hair, holding on a single lock and pulling a bit. Solomon thought that was a strange habit.

"You are still too thin, even if your mother did try to feed this body adequately. And the worst part is that the three great magics I had developed in my lifetime are locked away and even if I remember them, something is keeping me form teaching them to you." He bit his lip and pulled harder, Solomon wanted to tell him to stop, but he doubted the other would even hear, he seemed to be completely lost in his own thoughts.

"At least our magic circuits seem to be trying to reform themselves, they will fix themselves at some point, but the curse is still eating us alive, forbidding us to unlock our potential."

"So, we have to find a way to break the curse." Solomon said, wrapping one of the chains on his wrist, he thought he could hear something, but it was muffled, as if coming through a wall.

"Yes, yes we do." The older one said, taking the chain on his own hands and freeing Solomon's wrist, the noise faded away to nothing.

"Any clues on how to do it?"

"At first, I thought it would just lessen as the years passed, but I was wrong, it just grew stronger and stronger with each passing year." His other self put one of his hands on his thigh and stuck his nails in, Solomon was sure they would leave marks, maybe even cut the other's skin. The king, had the terrible habit of hurting himself, it seemed.

"I can feel that it's weaker now, though, maybe because you were able to awaken our magic."

"You don't have any idea either, huh?"

"No," he gave a self-deprecating smile, "Sorry."

"It's okay, we will find a way to set you free, to set us both free," he grabbed the other's hand and lifted it, making sure the nails would stay away from skin and that there was no blood under them, "I refuse to spent my whole life paying for your mistakes."

"How long do we have until it kills me?" he was still holding the other's hand. It felt important that he not let it go, not now.

"A few years." The king said, moving his hand so that they were holding each other's it was nice, only his mother had held his hand before, and he could only imagine when was the last time anyone had held the other Solomon's.

"Before I accepted The Creator gift for Humanity, I had a final vision using Clairvoyance, one of my ultimate skills that allows me to see far into the future, I saw the day where all factions would come together." He stopped for a moment, as if gathering himself, before continuing, "At first, there would be peace, and then we would become nothing more than mindless slaves. By my calculations, we have twenty to twenty five years before the first big events start to happen.

"That is a lot of time. I am sure we will have more than-" Before he could finish, he was interrupted by the First.

"A lot? Twenty years to recuperate our magic, rescue all of the Seventy Two, gather allies, find a way to become strong enough to control society and then go after the factions." He could feel the resignation on the king's voice, somehow, Solomon thought that he was used to not having enough time.

"With that said, I began to devise a plan to let us reach our goals."

"You already made a plan?" Solomon asked, surprised.

"Yes, I'm… used to planning," his other self answered, looking flustered, he tried to gesticulate, but Solomon was still holding his hands, so he just ended up lifting them in a very awkward way before realizing and setting them down again.

"I used to be a king, you know," he was trying hard not to laugh at the way the king just kept getting more and more embarrassed, at least he was smiling too, so he couldn't be uncomfortable or anything. He hoped. "That means I had to make plans. Lots of plans. As soon as He said what he wanted I began, it's not exactly complete, but it's a start. It won't be easy, but I think we will manage." The older one smiled fondly at Solomon.

"I've been thinking, since _you_ have a plan and all, maybe we don't need to follow that guy's plan." Solomon said, uncertain. "We can just go with yours instead."

"You want to go against the God of The Bible?" he could see the shock, on the other's face, the disbelief that someone would even think about it.

"Look, the whole point is for humanity to be free, right? So that the gods can't control humans anymore," Solomon tried to explain himself, if he could convince the other Solomon to help him, if they worked together, maybe they would be able to get out of this whole mess alive, "that means he shouldn't be able to control us either."

He held the king's wrists, his hands wrapping around the manacles, and suddenly he could hear the screaming again, louder this time, angrier, far away, but closer and strong enough to hurt, he knew the king was lying, he was hurting, he was hurting a lot.

The king shook off his grip, "He's just trying to help, Solomon."

"But, see, that's the thing, we _don't need his help_. He didn't help before, and now he just expects me to do whatever he wants, no questions asked." Solomon looked at the First, begging him to understand, "The guy let his own son be killed, I doubt he's going to care if we die if he gets what he wants in the end."

"I don't want to die because of _your_ mistakes." He whispered, he couldn't manage anything louder than a whisper, his throat closing up.

"Alright. Fine. We will do it your way, just-" he could see he had upset the other Solomon, he was gripping his hair and had his eyes shut tight. The First sighed and relaxed his grip a bit. That was good, Solomon bet his scalp had to be hurting. "It's going to be hard. Harder even than we thought at first. I hope you know this."

"I am prepared to do whatever it takes."

"That is good, we will need that spirit. Especially if we are going to go against the strongest existences in the world." The king held Solomon's face on his hands, "You are much braver than I am, Solomon, I hope you know that."

"I just don't want to die, that's all." He shrugged, it was uncomfortable to have the other holding his face like that, but he let him, "And I refuse to be used like a pawn. I am at very least a knight."

"Not a king?"

"The king is the weakest piece on the board, everyone knows that."

The other laughed, or cackled, he didn't know, but it had an edge of hysteria to it he didn't like, "Yes he is, isn't he? Don't worry, though, in this game I can be the king and you can be the knight if you so choose. I will make sure that you don't have to die even if we lose."

"So, you think we can win?"

He hummed a bit before answering, "Maybe. But not alone. We will need a lot more pieces than a king and a knight. That is another reason the God of The Bible sent you here. You heard the voices."

"I thought those were just the screams of your people or something, what do they have to do with the plan?"

"No, what you heard were the heroes." As he said that, once again, Solomon could hear the screams, a multitude of voices calling for help. He couldn't stop a hiss of pain from escaping his lips.

"So, you do hear them. These are the pleas of heroes. And I believe they can help us with our plan." The king touched his forehead, and Solomon didn't know what he did, but it made the voices go quiet again.

"While many of us heroes, died and returned over and over again living countless lives until the present day, others suffered in the hands of the gods and can't let go of this world. They are crying for help, for anyone who can set them free."

"And why would they help us? Do we have to set them free too? Isn't saving the world enough, do we really have to do this too?"

"There are many heroes trapped, some of them want revenge for an injustice committed against them, others want to see a loved one again." The king was looking up, lost in thought, "a few of them want to repent, or to prevent disaster from happening once again. It is possible that some of them just want it all to end, to finally find piece, or maybe to not have to be alone anymore."

"So, we will have to help them, that's what you are saying."

"No, I'm saying that maybe they can help _us_." The king said, looking directly into Solomon's eyes, "We are too weak to find them right now, but later, once you are strong enough, we should convince them to fight alongside you."

"And the ones who don't want to fight? Do we set them free?" Even if he could no longer hear them, he remembered their screams, the anger, the sadness, the feeling of hopelessness. It was heartbreaking.

"If you want." The king conceded. Solomon couldn't help but feel like the king was right when he said he wasn't that good at being a person. The more he talked with him, the more apparent it became, it was as if he had a few pieces missing, like he was broken and put together wrong.

From afar he could pass for normal just fine, but from up close, it was impossible not to see that he didn't really _feel_ like he should.

"Now, let us talk about the other half of your power, the Seventy-Two." As he said that, the same eye from before appeared above them, at least, he thought it was an eye, but maybe he was wrong, maybe that thing had never been an eye at all. It wasn't alone this time, there were several of them and they all looked the same, round and red with a four-pointed black star in the middle.

The king lifted Solomon off his lap and stood up, he offered his hand to help Solomon stand too. It seemed important, somehow, that he was standing for this moment.

The biggest eye began to descend taking the shape of a black mannequin. As it approached, it kneeled in front of them.

"That's Goetia, he speaks for the Pillars," the king said to him.

"Your majesty, forgive us." The thing said, Solomon thought it was talking to the other Solomon, but he couldn't be sure, the thing didn't really have any eyes, "We failed to save her majesty the queen, there can be no bigger shame." The apology surprised him, he expected the pillars to be angry at the other Solomon for leaving them, he knew he would be.

Solomon didn't really know what it meant when it said they had failed, but he felt the king stiffening behind him. He didn't know what the First would do but he knew that he was upset.

Solomon watched as the king left his side and stood in front of Goetia, he put his hand on top of the thing's head and started talking, "You have nothing to apologize for, I have no doubt you did all you could to fulfill my orders."

"I abandoned you that day, I left you to suffer and yet, even if you were weakened, you stayed by my side and protected me. I would not be a very good king if I rewarded your loyalty by punishing you."

The king gestured for Solomon to come forward, to stand beside him, "This is my current incarnation," he said, with his hand on Solomon's shoulder. The Pillar raised its head and seemed to look at Solomon. "You will obey him as you do me, you will serve him as you do me. He has a very heavy burden on his shoulder, and it would please me if you were to help him carry it."

Goetia stood up and Solomon heard a chorus of voices speaking as one.

[WE WHO BEAR THE BURDEN OF WATCHING AND SAFEGUARDING HUMANITY, WE VOW, ONCE AGAIN, TO SERVE UNDER HE, KING SOLOMON. DO YOU, OUR KING, VOW TO KEEP US BY YOUR SIDE UNTIL THE END OF THE DAYS? TO GUARD AND SAFEKEEP US?]

Solomon didn't know what to say, but the king leaned down and whispered to him "Repeat after me, I vow to guide the seventy two and its leader to a future they accept. I vow to guard and safe keep them just as they will with me. If this contract is to be broken, may death carry me."

As Solomon repeated the words the bandages on his arms disappeared, his curse marks were still there, but the boy could feel power humming just underneath his skin, following the path of the marks.

[SO IT WAS SAID, SO IT SHALL BE DONE!]

And with that eyes and the mannequin disappeared. Silence reigned, but it was the peaceful kind, a gentle sort of silence, light.

"After thousands of years, they finally got a measure of peace, I'm glad." The First said looking to where the Pillars had been a few seconds ago.

"Where did they go?" Solomon said, looking for any trace of the Pillars on the sky, he didn't know what those constellations were, or how there could be a sky and stars inside his mind, but it was pretty, he supposed.

"They went to sleep for a while, to recharge. It must have taken a lot out of them to do what they just did, renewing their contract would not strain them, but weakening the curse certainly did."

"They weakened the curse?" Solomon turned his head so quickly he could hear his neck snap, but it didn't matter, he grabbed the other's arm and looked at the manacle on his wrist, it was looser now, he could see the cuts on the kings skin now, the loosened manacles leaving enough room for him to see just how tight they were before.

The blood was running freely from the deep cuts, the skin swollen and irritated, the edges of the manacles looking more copper than gold, stained from years and years of absorbing blood.

"You said they didn't hurt." Solomon accused his other self, "They were cutting you this whole time and you still said they didn't hurt.

The First smiled at him, that little bitter smile Solomon was learning to hate, "I lied. I lie a lot Solomon. I have been in pain for so long that I forgot what its absence feels like."

"Promise you won't lie to me again. Promise you will let me help you when you are in pain. We are a team now, you and me." Solomon squeezed his other self's arm, "I care about you, I don't want you to just stay quiet when something is hurting you."

He could see he had caught him off guard, could sense him fumbling for a response, "I-I promise." Could see he was lying too.

Solomon wished that someone had cared about his other self, that someone had taught him he could trust others to help. He didn't know if he could do it on his own. The First was way too broken for him to be able to gather all the pieces and put him back together.

"You have to go back now, Solomon. They are waiting for you"

"Are you coming with me?"

"I can't leave this place, I'm sorry." The First said, gesturing towards the chains that bound him, Solomon could hear them clanging.

"You said you would be with me, you can't be with me if you are stuck here."

"I will try to find a way to get closer to the surface, to make it easier for you to reach me, I promise, Solomon, but you have to go now, we have much to do."

And with that, the boy was engulfed by the light.

* * *

Real word.

As he opened his eyes, he was almost blinded by the sunlight. Covering his eyes with his hand, Solomon began to look around, before Tabbris appeared with a cup of water, some bread, the rest of the soup from yesterday and some fruits.

"I apologize for the lack of better sustenance, it is what I could gather."

"It's fine, don't worry, that's enough. I have done with a lot less before." He said, reaching for the bread.

"Not anymore, we have to get you into shape after all."

"You were listening?"

"The master may be weak, but he still holds a grand quantity of power. We watched to make sure everything would go safe."

"Where is Chuck by the way?" as he looked around, he noticed the old man sleeping in a near sleeping bag, close to him.

"He has been sleeping more and more lately, I fear for his safety." Tabbris said as he let out a sight, "At first, he never needed to sleep, then he started getting tired, started needing to, in the beginning it was just every other day, now he sleeps for hours every day." He started rubbing his hands nervously, "it may not be long until he has to take the rest of the seventh day."

"Just like in the bible." Solomon mused, "That means he is getting weaker?"

"The seals he placed on the beast keep draining his power, that and the fact he has to keep the balance of this world. It's too much for him."

"He said that before, what do you mean keep the balance?"

Tabbris hesitated before answering, "I think it would be better if the Master told you himself."

"I understand."

Solomon ate quietly while Tabbris kept watch, he was still tired, the events of the last two days taking its tool on him.

"What time is it, Tabbris?"

"It is almost ten o'clock Young Master. Do you need something?"

"No, I was just thinking that I would have been at school at right now, if today was a normal day." Being a king of times past. Gods. Trihexa. The end of the world. Heroes. The seventy two pillars. Everything seemed so surreal that he had trouble believing it.

Then, he would look around and realize it was all real. His life as he knew it was over, he had a world to protect now.

"Young master, what do you intend to do?"

"What do you mean? I am going with you guys right?"

"While that is true, I am asking about this place. How do you want to deal with it?"

"I don't know yet." He told Tabbris

Right, he hadn't had time to think about that. He could leave this place and never return, he would never have to look at the people who hurt him again. He knew now that their anger at him was because of the curse, but still, anger and dislike were not an excuse to hurt someone, people are not forced to act on their feelings, and even so, it's possible to feel those emotions and still not want to see the other person hurt.

Solomon couldn't forgive them for it, not really. Specially because they hurt his mother.

The assassins said his grandfather had hired them. Solomon didn't know the man, he had never met him, he only knew he was an extremely powerful man because his mother told him so. And he used that power to hurt them.

His grandfather was guilty, and with his newly discovered powers it would be easy to invade the mansion and kill every single person there.

It would be so very easy.

But….

If he did that, wouldn't he be the same as his grandfather? Somewhere, some time ago he heard someone say that revenge doesn't fix anything, that it doesn't bring the dead back to life, doesn't fill the whole they left behind, that it poisons the soul.

But he didn't want to fill the hole his mother left behind. He just wanted to see that man pay for what he had done, he couldn't let actions like that go unpunished.

Now, what he was going to do?

* * *

 **Indeed Solomon, what are you going to do now? But we shall leave that for the next chapter. Please, if possible, I would like to hear your opinions about this chapter. Next chapter promises to be action packed just not in the way you expect.**

 **Once again, before I forget, please tell me your favorite heroes or heroines. They may end up in this story. Have a nice day everyone. Whisper of Dreams off again!**


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